Article Commentary: The need for intersectional practices in addressing workplace diversity

Abstract

In “Designing More Effective Practices for Reducing Workplace Inequality,” Quinetta Roberson, Eden King, and Mikki Hebl suggest robust strategies for addressing inequality.¹ They also list unanswered questions, such as whether any practices improve employment opportunities across all demographic groups or contexts. I see one potential answer: that organizational leaders and researchers look to intersectionality as a framework for addressing inequalities that occur inside and outside of organizations.²³

An intersectionality framework considers the effects of belonging to multiple social groups simultaneously—for instance, the ways that being both Black and a woman can undercut opportunities beyond the independent ways that being Black or being a woman can. The failure to recognize how diversity policies affect people who belong to multiple disadvantaged groups will perpetuate inequalities rather than eliminate them.